We propose a series of comparative genomic analyses with the broad aim of identifying transcripts and putative regulatory control elements (conserved non-coding sequences; CNS) that are associated with the evolutionary transition between annual and perennial life history strategies. We will accomplish this via de novo sequencing of additional perennial Brachypodium species and a new outgroup species to facilitate phylogenomic analysis, deep resequencing of natural accessions of B. sylvaticum, and an RNASeq experiment assessing transcriptional control of meristem transitions in annual and perennial species of Brachypodium. In addition to allowing us to test hypotheses related to the environmental and genetic control of biomass partitioning, the new sequence data generated will provide an unprecedented set of community resources for comparative genomic analysis in the grasses.
Proposer: David Des Marais, Harvard University